In March, the two guardians of Aydon Quinn, a 6-year-old boy from South Carolina, Sarah and Christopher Stewart, were charged with unlawful neglect of a child after Aydon died on October 20, 2022, from an overdose of Benadryl. Sarah has also been charged with homicide by child abuse as she was the one to give the drug to Aydon, which resulted in his death.
Aydon was in their care as his mother is currently serving time in a federal prison in West Virginia. The guardianship was signed over to the Stewart family privately, without the involvement of the South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS).
A statement from the DSS said neither Sarah nor Christopher are licensed foster parents, meaning that had Aydon gone through the DSS, he likely would not have been placed with the Stewart family.
Aydon Quinn was a six-year-old boy from Greer, South Carolina. After his mother was sent to federal prison in West Virginia, she privately signed over guardianship of Aydon to Christopher Stewart, 48, who was married to Sarah, 32. This was done without the involvement of the South Carolina DSS.
Aydon died on October 20, 2022, and a coroner determined that this was due to an overdose of the drug Benadryl. Benadryl is an antihistamine and sedative mainly used to treat allergies, insomnia, and common cold symptoms. In a Facebook post, the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office said that there was enough Benadryl in his system to “kill an adult male.”
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At the time of his death, Aydon weighed only 45 pounds. The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office said Aydon lived in “filthy conditions.”
They went on to say, “It was also learned that previous child abuse referrals had been made to the SC [South Carolina] Department of Social Services. At the victim’s autopsy, bruises in various stages of healing were documented, photographed, and collected along with other evidence.”
What happened to Aydon Quinn?
Aydon Quinn lived with his foster parents and, on October 20, was discovered dead by authorities.
Initially, they were told by Aydon’s guardians that the boy had fallen out of a recliner chair, hit his head on the hard floor, and suffered a seizure. Emergency services took Aydon to a nearby hospital, saying before they left that the “prognosis was grim.” Aydon later passed away at the hospital.
The coroner concluded that Aydon had suffered an overdose of Benadryl. Aydon had symptoms of acute diphenhydramine toxicity or overdose, including tremors, seizures, fever, respiratory depression, and cardiac arrhythmias.
After an extensive investigation, authorities found that Aydon had been living in poor conditions and had several marks and bruises on Aydon’s skin.
Where are the parents, Sarah and Christopher Stewart, now?
After an investigation by the authorities, both of Aydon Quinn’s guardians, Sarah and Christopher Stewart, were arrested in March 2023 by the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office. During an interview with the Sheriff’s Office, both suspects admitted that Sarah had given Aydon Benadryl because he was hyperactive.
Sarah was charged with homicide by child abuse and unlawful neglect of a child. Christopher is charged with unlawful neglect of a child.
In a hearing, Sarah was denied bond, meaning she will stay in jail until the next hearing. Christopher was granted a bond of $10,000 and was later released. The trial has yet to take place, and the pair have yet to be convicted or acquitted of their charges.
